The Simplicity of Real Repeal

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom’s Twila Brase Says 2,700 Pages of a Bad Law and 40,000 Pages of Intrusive Government Regulations Can Be Fully Repealed with Just a Few Words

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Lawmakers are still squabbling about health care, more than a week after the American Health Care Act—a supposed replacement bill to the Affordable Care Act—failed in the House on March 24. House Speaker Paul Ryan told The Washington Post that Republicans will continue pushing for an overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

The answer, says Twila Brase, president and co-founder of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org), a national health freedom and patient advocacy organization that has long called for the full repeal of Obamacare, is not more complicated language, intricate mandates and complex regulations. But instead, true change can happen when lawmakers learn what real repeal language looks like.

“The language in a bill that would truly repeal the Affordable Care Act is simple and straight-forward,” Brase said. “Not only did the ill-fated American Health Care Act fail to repeal Obamacare, it didn’t even replace it. The Affordable Care Act consists of 2,700 pages along with 40,000 pages of regulations, memos and guidance documents. Even so, very simple language could repeal it all. Bills with this simple repeal language are already in existence and deserve to be considered or revisited.”

Brase said lawmakers must take a serious look at the two-page bill from Congressman Mo Brooks (R.-Ala.). H.R. 1718, the “Obamacare Repeal Act,” uses a single sentence to fully repeal this damaging health care law. “Effective as of Dec. 31, 2017, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is repealed, and the provisions of law amended or repealed by such Act are restored or revived as if such Act had not been enacted,” the bill states, according to AL.com.

CCHF is urging lawmakers who are interested in returning real health freedom to Americans to look at Brooks’ proposed measure, along with the repeal language in two past bills that hit the nail on the head when it comes to simplicity:

H.R. 2900—The OPTION Act of 2013, introduced by then-Rep. Paul Broun (R.-Ga.), is a 53-page bill that sought to repeal Title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and any amendments to it made by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; restore provisions of law amended or repealed by such provisions; amend the IRS code with respect to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs); and allow an HSA rollover to a Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account (MSA), among other things. Read more about the bill here.

H.R. 2300—The Empowering Patients First Act of 2015, sponsored by former Congressmen Tom Price (R.-Ga.), now HHS Secretary, would have used 56 words to repeal the Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010. Read more on the bill here.

Brase added that several components of real health care freedom would return with total repeal of the Affordable Care Act:

True affordable catastrophic, major medical insurance.

Obamacare’s 19 taxes would be repealed, increasing affordability of care and coverage.

Taxpayers wouldn’t be required to report their insurance status to the IRS.

Privacy would be protected because the federal ACA exchange system would be a thing of the past, and the database attached to it would be dismantled.

High-risk pools for those with pre-existing conditions could operate again.

“The only way to fix health care is actually getting back to a strong patient-doctor relationship in an affordable way,” Brase said. “And the only thing Americans asked for was repeal. Now is the time.”

Brase talks about Brooks’ simple, one-sentence repeal bill this week on CCHF’s daily, 60-second radio feature, “Health Freedom Minute,” which airs on nearly 800 stations nationwide. “Health Freedom Minute” informs listeners about the agenda behind health care initiatives and steps they can take to protect their health care choices, rights and privacy. For information on how to add “Health Freedom Minute” to a station lineup, contact Michael Hamilton at mhamilton@hamiltonstrategies.com, (610) 584-1096 or (215) 519-4838.

CCHF’s newest initiative, The Wedge of Health Freedom (www.JointheWedge.com)aims to transform the entire health care system back to freedom and restore simplicity, affordability and confidentiality. Nearly 200 Wedge practices, where patients can find affordable, patient-centered care, are located in 44 states and listed online.

CCHF is a national patient-centered health freedom organization existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. For more information about CCHF, visit www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. Also view the media page for CCHF here. For more about The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The WedgeFacebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.